EARLY YEARS / PREHISTORY TO 1873

Moving Beyond the Frontier

Dallas County settlements could not grow without transportation to bring in people, goods, and business opportunities. The Trinity River was no help-it was clogged with debris that formed snags to stop boats. The Republic of Texas built two "highways" through north Texas. One observer called them “universally primitive.” If a storekeeper needed new supplies, he had to make a 200-mile journey to and from Shreveport. It took 40 days by wagon. By the 1850s, travelers enjoyed stagecoach service from Dallas to several destinations, but transporting heavy goods in and out of the region was slow, expensive and inefficient.